Annette Totten: Care to the end

Annette Totten has been well aware of the holes that exist in the nation's long-term care system since she was a young adult working in a nursing home. More recently, the aging and death of her parents-in-law brought her face-to-face with the problems on a more personal level.

"There were issues with the quality of their care. Basic things—things I thought everybody knew that should have happened, didn't happen," she says.

After getting a bachelor's degree in international studies, a master's degree in modern language, and master's degree in pubic administration, Totten began acquiring extensive experience in order to tackle the issue of long-term care head on.

Her path led her to the Health Services Research and Policy (HSRP) program at SPH; she received her Ph.D. in 2004.

Totten thought HSRP's heavy emphasis on research methods would help take her work to the next level. She was right. She's now director of the Geriatrics Framework Project at the Center for Home Care Policy and Research of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY.

"I don't pretend all policy is made because of research or data. But at least if policy makers have the research data and know a problem exists, there is a chance for change," she says.

(Updated: June 2009)

Health Services Research and Policy (HSRP)